Related Tags:

More Cowboys

Tony Romo celebrates a touchdown with Lawrence Vickers #47 and Jermey Parnell #78 of the Dallas Cowboys during play against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cowboys Stadium on December 16, 2012 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

DALLAS (105.3 THE FAN) – 3-5. That’s where the Cowboys stood on Nov. 4 after a loss to the then undefeated Atlanta Falcons. Plagued by penalties and poor play at the most inopportune times, the team fell two-and-a-half games behind the New York Giants for the division lead.

“When you are 3-5 through eight games, I look to the ‘glass is half-full’,” said owner and GM Jerry Jones on 105.3 The Fan’s New School with Shan & RJ on Wednesday. “We’ve got eight more games to go. So, not realistically, by the numbers you can win 11 games.”

Jones points to the way in which the games were lost during the first half of the season, highlighting the losses to Baltimore in week 6 and New York in week 8. Dan Bailey narrowly missed a game winning 51-yeard attempt against the Ravens in the closing seconds. And the team was a Dez Bryant finger away from sweeping the Giants in Arlington.

“We weren’t playing well, but we were close in there to not having dug the hole you are talking about,” said Jones.

Since falling in Atlanta, the team has won five of six games, including a season-defining win against Pittsburgh on Sunday. Despite the poor start, the team is now in a three-way tie for the NFC East Division lead.

“Our team is just playing better. We are playing with less turnovers,” said Jones. “Romo, in my mind, played the best game that he has ever played. And that’s saying a lot because he’s played some good games around here.”

“Our offensive line is playing better,” Jones continued. “We’re going to need to play better, but we’re playing better and that’s giving Romo more time. Things were real slow out there for Romo – that’s a positive.”

While the offense appears to be playing more consistently with the return of DeMarco Murray, the defense is dealing with a growing number of key losses. Sean Lee, Bruce Carter, and Jay Ratliff are among the players who are most likely out for the season. And the unit was dealt another blow with the loss of Josh Brent.

“I think, although we’re patched up over on defense, we’ve got our people in the right spots,” said Jones. “We’re getting some guys coming in here that are playing well on the interior. We’ve got a chance.”